(Edit: I restarted my Hunter [again], diregard the first paragraph.) [i]If you're confused as to what I mean by "Patrol Veteran," look at my Hunter and check my playtime distribution. My old (deleted) Hunter had similar numbers as well.[/i] Now, I've been playing Patrol since I picked up the game [i]last[/i] January. For the first month, that's [i]all I did.[/i] I didn't have PS+, so I couldn't do much. There are three topics I want to discuss: -Difficulty/Relevance of Patrol -Patrol Missions -Those god damned Taken events ________________________________________ First, let's talk about difficulty. Currently, there is only one difficulty for each planet, which is the level it unlocks at. This leaves high level players with a trivially easy gamemode. Most enemies die from one headshot. There is a level select bar, but it's empty. We need a level 40 difficulty for each planet. (The old difficulty will still be available.) Enemies should be between as tough as they are in heroic/nightfall strikes and raid level, depending on the area. These enemies have an increased engram drop rate to compensate. The level 40 difficulty should also have manually activated "Area Bosses" in certain key zones (The Divide, The Citadel, The Hellmouth, The Buried City, etc.), similar to the Court of Oryx. Each planet will have 3-5 area bosses. Each area has a different boss with different difficulties and mechanics. They can be soloed with Patience and Time (hah), but are more managable with friends. Defeating an area boss gurantees a legendary or exotic weapon/armor piece (NOT a Ghost/Artifact), as well as a small chance for unique (and very rare) shaders and emblems. Killing an area boss slows down enemy spawns (maybe one or two less enemies per spawn group) to show our progress towards reclaiming these areas. After about 10 minutes, a message will pop up saying "The enemy advances." Enemy spawn rates will return to normal, and the Area Boss will be available to fight again. ________________________________________ Next, we'll be talking about Patrol Missions. We need a wider variety of more challenging and rewarding missions. Here are some examples: -Complete a public event with a gold tier rating. [i]Loot: 5+ Motes/Strange Coins [u]and[/u] 10 heavy ammo synthesis.[/i] -Kill 100 (enemy race). [i]Loot: 3 Motes/Coins [u]or[/u] 5 heavy ammo synthesis.[/i] -Kill 20 enemy Majors. [i]Loot: Random Legendary Engram.[/i] -Race to (Area Name) in under (Time Limit) and scan (object). [i]Loot: 10 Legendary Marks.[/i] -Gather 15 (Planetary Material). [i]Loot: Gathered materials [u]and[/u] 25 Weapon/Armor Parts.[/i] Those are just some examples of what I would add. Get creative. ________________________________________ Finally, let's talk about why these Taken events are [i]absolutely terrible.[/i] Every 2-5 minutes, dark haze covers the screen and that dreaded message pops up in the corner: "Taken forces are corrupting the area." Never before have I seen a Patrol zone empty out so quickly. To understand why, we must first look at what the other events did [i]right:[/i] [u]Blades of Crota:[/u] -OPTIONAL, only a small portion of a Patrol area is affected. -Simple and fast, there is a single major enemy and a few acolytes/thralls. -You get to kill things with a badass sword after completing the event. [u]Packs of Wolves:[/u] -OPTIONAL, only a small portion of a Patrol area is affected. -More challenging, but not overwhelming. You kill a few waves of fallen, then a sub-boss. -You get to use badass Scorch Cannons during and after the event. -You get a few engrams and planetary materials to reward you for your time/effort. Decent chance at a legendary. (The chest hunt was soooo fun, I remember triple dipping for major loot gains.) [u]Now let's compare that to the Taken events:[/u] -NOT optional. The enemies constantly spawn all over the map. -Blocks most enemy spawns. Some of us are here to kill Hive for a bounty, but that's pretty damn hard when none spawn. -[i]Constantly[/i] repeating. What's that? You just killed a bunch of Taken? Hah, Oryx sends his regards. *Taken forces are corrupting the area* -Ability spam. Blindness orbs are flying [i]everywhere.[/i] -Boss is as tough as a strike boss. -ABSOLUTELY NO LOOT. [i]That[/i] is what makes this so offensive. The event is far tougher than previous events, but you get absolutely nothing to show for it. No cool weapon to use, no engrams, [i]not even a few glimmer.[/i] Nothing. Suggestion: Either give us enough loot to make the event worth our time or remove it entirely. ________________________________________ You guys have put a ton of effort into making this gamemode, but it's still so dry. Very few people play Patrol for fun. I find that disappointing, because Patrol is the only way to get the "Massive open world" you told everyone about before launch. The biggest part of the game shouldn't be stuck at a low level. [spoiler]While you're at it, bump up the old raids. *Cough*[/spoiler] ________________________________________ [u]Edit Section:[/u] [Edit 1:] So far, the majority of the comments have been supportive of these ideas. A few other ideas have been suggested, including: -Revamped loot chests -Reintroduction of old events -Optional nightfall modifiers (We need this, YESTERDAY!!!) -Increasing max fireteam size to 6 Let's keep this thread up there. If Bungie notices us (senpai pls), we may have a chance. Thanks for the support, guys!